Recognizes the accomplishments and example of Cesar Estrada Chavez, pledges to promote his legacy, and encourages the people of the United States to commemorate his legacy and to always remember his rallying cry, "Si, se puede!" ("Si, se puede!" is Spanish for "Yes, we can!")
[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 178 Introduced in House (IH)]
114th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 178
Honoring the accomplishments and legacy of Ceesar Estrada Chaavez.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 26, 2015
Mr. Caardenas (for himself, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Gallego, Mrs.
Torres, Mr. Sablan, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Gutieerrez, Mr. Vargas, Ms.
Linda T. Saanchez of California, Ms. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New
Mexico, Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California, Mr. Castro of Texas, Mr.
Smith of Washington, Mr. Ruiz, Mr. Lewis, Mr. Sherman, Ms. Norton, Mr.
Doggett, Mr. Aguilar, Ms. Chu of California, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr.
Hinojosa, Mr. Sires, and Mrs. Watson Coleman) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Honoring the accomplishments and legacy of Ceesar Estrada Chaavez.
Whereas Ceesar Estrada Chaavez was born on March 31, 1927, near Yuma, Arizona;
Whereas Ceesar Estrada Chaavez spent his early years on a family farm;
Whereas, at the age of 10, Ceesar Estrada Chaavez joined the thousands of
migrant farm workers laboring in fields and vineyards throughout the
Southwest after a bank foreclosure resulted in the loss of the family
farm;
Whereas Ceesar Estrada Chaavez, after attending more than 30 elementary and
middle schools and achieving an eighth grade education, left school to
work full-time as a farm worker to help support his family;
Whereas, at the age of 17, Ceesar Estrada Chaavez entered the United States Navy
and served the United States with distinction for 2 years;
Whereas, in 1948, Ceesar Estrada Chaavez returned from military service to marry
Helen Fabela, whom he had met while working in the vineyards of central
California;
Whereas Ceesar Estrada Chaavez and Helen Fabela had 8 children;
Whereas, as early as 1949, Ceesar Estrada Chaavez was committed to organizing
farm workers to campaign for safe and fair working conditions,
reasonable wages, livable housing, and the outlawing of child labor;
Whereas, in 1952, Ceesar Estrada Chaavez joined the Community Service
Organization, a prominent Latino civil rights group, and worked with the
organization to coordinate voter registration drives and conduct
campaigns against discrimination in east Los Angeles;
Whereas Ceesar Estrada Chaavez served as the national director of the Community
Service Organization;
Whereas, in 1962, Ceesar Estrada Chaavez left the Community Service Organization
to found the National Farm Workers Association, which eventually became
the United Farm Workers of America;
Whereas Ceesar Estrada Chaavez was a strong believer in the principles of
nonviolence practiced by Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.;
Whereas Ceesar Estrada Chaavez effectively used peaceful tactics that included
fasting for 25 days in 1968, 25 days in 1972, and 38 days in 1988, to
call attention to the terrible working and living conditions of farm
workers in the United States;
Whereas, under the leadership of Ceesar Estrada Chaavez, the United Farm Workers
of America organized thousands of migrant farm workers to fight for fair
wages, health care coverage, pension benefits, livable housing, and
respect;
Whereas, through his commitment to nonviolence, Ceesar Estrada Chaavez brought
dignity and respect to the organized farm workers and became an
inspiration to and a resource for individuals engaged in human rights
struggles throughout the world;
Whereas the influence of Ceesar Estrada Chaavez extends far beyond agriculture
and provides inspiration for those working to better human rights,
empower workers, and advance the American Dream, which includes all
inhabitants of the United States;
Whereas Ceesar Estrada Chaavez died on April 23, 1993, at the age of 66 in San
Luis, Arizona, only miles from his birthplace;
Whereas more than 50,000 people attended the funeral services of Ceesar Estrada
Chaavez in Delano, California;
Whereas Ceesar Estrada Chaavez was laid to rest at the headquarters of the
United Farm Workers of America, known as Nuestra Sennora de La Paz,
located in the Tehachapi Mountains in Keene, California;
Whereas, since the death of Ceesar Estrada Chaavez, schools, parks, streets,
libraries, and other public facilities, as well as awards and
scholarships, have been named in his honor;
Whereas 10 States and dozens of communities across the United States honor the
life and legacy of Ceesar Estrada Chaavez on March 31st of each year;
Whereas, during his lifetime, Ceesar Estrada Chaavez was a recipient of the
Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace Prize;
Whereas, on August 8, 1994, Ceesar Estrada Chaavez was posthumously awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom;
Whereas President Barack Obama honored the life of service of Ceesar Estrada
Chaavez by proclaiming March 31, 2012, to be ``Ceesar Chaavez Day'';
Whereas, on October 8, 2012, President Barack Obama authorized the Secretary of
the Interior to establish a Ceesar Estrada Chaavez National Monument in
Keene, California; and
Whereas the United States should continue the efforts of Ceesar Estrada Chaavez
to ensure equality, justice, and dignity for all people of the United
States: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) recognizes the accomplishments and example of a great
hero of the United States, Ceesar Estrada Chaavez;
(2) pledges to promote the legacy of Ceesar Estrada
Chaavez; and
(3) encourages the people of the United States to
commemorate the legacy of Ceesar Estrada Chaavez and to always
remember his great rallying cry, ``tSii, se puede!'', which is
Spanish for ``Yes, we can!''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
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